How To Make Almond Milk At Home

Today I’m going to teach you how to make almond milk at home!  It’s extremely easy and requires only 1 simple ingredient (almonds!).  I’m sharing tips on how to make it faster if you forget to soak your almonds overnight, plus how to make it without a cheesecloth.  You’ll love how easy it is to make healthy, homemade almond milk right in your own kitchen!

How to make almond milk at home

If you have raw almonds at home, then you can make almond milk!  The super quick how-to is this: soak your almonds overnight, drain, blend with water and strain. Let me walk you through with how-to photos so you can see how simple the process really is.

Step by step almond milk instructions with photos

Start by soaking 1 cup of raw almonds overnight covered in water.  If you forget to start soaking your almonds the night before, read below for how to make it faster.

After 6+ hours of soaking, drain and rinse the almonds with water.  Add 40oz of filtered water to a high speed blender with the almonds.

Blend on high for 30-60 seconds, until creamy.

Pour the almond milk through a cheesecloth or an old tea towel placed on a stainer over a bowl.  Both work great for straining!

Squeeze out all the liquid from the pulp and your almond milk is done!

Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

How to make it faster

There have been many mornings around here that I realized I forgot to soak almonds the night prior.  It happens to the best of us!  Here’s how to make it faster without soaking the almonds overnight.  

Bring water to a boil, and pour the boiled water over the almonds to soak for 1-2 hour.  This will soften the almonds faster than soaking in room temperature water.  I’ve found it works great!  Honestly, I use this trick half the time because I’m always forgetting to soak ahead.

How to make almond milk without a cheesecloth?

I love my cheesecloths because they are easy to use (and cheap!), but I’ve also made it without them and it works like a charm!

Here’s how:

Find an old tea towel to use – something that is thin but without holes to allow the liquid to seep through, but not the pulp.  You’ll place that towel over a strainer, over a bowl.  Pour the blended liquid into the towel and allow it to drip out.  You can squeeze the excess liquid out as well.

What to store it in?

I saved glass milk bottles from a local creamery and will most often store my homemade nut milk in those.  They are cute and functional!

You can also store in a quart mason jar, or even buy glass milk bottles like the ones I use.  Just make sure whatever you store it in can seal to maintain freshness.

How long does homemade almond milk last? Can you freeze extra?

There are no additives or preservatives in homemade almond milk, so it will last 3-4 days in the fridge.  If you make a large amount, freeze the extra and defrost in the fridge when you need it.  Once defrosted, give it a good shake and it should be good to use again!

Flavor add ins

This recipe is the simplest version of just almonds and water.  Here are some ways to change it up a bit.

• Add a pinch of sea salt.  This makes the flavor pop a bit more.
• Want sweetness?  Soak 1-2 dates in with your almonds and blend/strain it out as well.
• Want vanilla? Add ½ tsp vanilla extract or blend in vanilla bean paste.

Is it cheaper to make almond milk?

This is a big question I’ve been asked, and I asked myself.  The answer – YES! It is cheaper.  Let me break it down.  This is just an example of price I’ve seen and it will all depend on how much your almonds cost.

There are roughly 3 cups of almonds in 1 lb of almonds.  That means you get 3 batches of almond milk out of 1 lb of almonds.  

I buy almonds in bulk at Costco and it costs me about $15 for 3 lb of raw almonds.  That means the cost is $5 per pound, divided by 3 gives me a final cost of $1.67 per batch.  I pay double that for a container of store bought almond milk.

This is assuming you throw out the almond pulp.  But I don’t!  Below I’m sharing different ways to use the leftover almond pulp so that it’s zero waste and an even cheaper way to make almond milk.

I will also make our almond milk stretch even more by increasing the water in the recipe.  This gives me a thinner almond milk, but we primarily use it for smoothies so it’s not a big deal.  If you don’t want a larger quantity, you can also cut the amount of almonds used by 25-50%.

What should you use the leftover almond pulp for?

I have a delicious snack ball recipe coming very soon that uses up that leftover almond pulp! Here are some ways to use leftover almond pulp:

• Dehydrate the pulp and turn it into almond meal.
• Add the almond meal into pancake mix, muffins, crackers and cookies.

Here are some great recipes to use your almond milk with it:

• Chai hot chocolate
• Hemp granola
• Protein waffles
• Peanut butter chocolate avocado smoothie
• Dairy free eggnog

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to tag me @fitmamarealfood and use the hashtag #fitmamarealfood on Instagram so I can see what you’re making!

If you try this recipe please leave a rating and comment below so other’s can see how it turns out for you!

XO

Heather